Battle against 'love bug'

By Our Special Correspondent

NEW DELHI, MAY 6. Companies specialising in anti-virus vaccines geared up to make a killing even as the ``love bug'' unleashed just two days on the Internet continued to cause trepidation among e-mail users following reports that it was taking other forms such as ``Susitikim'' and ``VeryFunny.vbs''. Warnings posted on web bulletin boards suggest prevention would be better than seeking a cure after the virus ``drops'' or modifies files.

While users should take precautions, analysts feel pre-emptive action by internet service providers (ISPs) would be more effective than leaving individual e-mail users to grapple with the Internet-borne virus which has caused damages estimated at $ 2.6 billions in the U.S. alone till Friday evening. ``ISPs can provide protection their customers protection at the gateway before the infected e-mail even enters the user's in-box,'' says Mr. Ron Mortiz, chief technical officer of Symantec, a world leader in Internet security technology.

Rather than shutting down e-mail systems altogether, users are being asked to spurn the temptation of opening e-mails titled ``ILOVEYOU'' with a body asking users to ``kindly check the attached LOVELETTER coming from me''. The sting lies in an attachment file called ``LOVE-LETTER-FOR-YOU'' which when opened begins using the Outlook's e-mail application to spread. It replicates by sending the ``Love'' e-mail to all users listed in the directory. At the same time it begins devouring or modifying files in the user's PC. These messages should be deleted from both the in-box and the items folder.

Till the virus is brought to book, e-mail users should continue to take precautions. If an attachment is received unexpectedly, even from a known person, the sender should be asked before opening. Opening attachments from unknown sources should be avoided and anti-virus software run regularly with the latest update. Users have been asked not to circulate virus from unknown sources to contain panic based on hearsay.

``This worm represents a high threat to all e- businesses, corporates and home users due to its ability to completely flood e-mail networks,'' says Mr. Vineet Nayar, president of HCL Comnet Systems which, like many other companies, is offering to help the virus-affected. The company will be hoping to capitalise on the ``love bug'' scare to promote ``e- secure'', a software which detects unauthorised access, conducts network security audits and constantly monitors the network.

Symantec, whose anti-virus research centre began receiving reports on the virus early on May 4, is offering to detect, repair and protect users against the worm. ``To contain this (the love bug) and self-propagated attachments, we encourage corporations and individuals to immediately update their virus definitions and update them regularly to ensure they are protected,'' said Mr. Moritz.

``As these types of Internet-borne viruses become more common, a multiple line defence strategy becomes critical,'' he says, while urging corporations and ISPs to take immediate action.

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Section  : National
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